John B. Sohocki II, M.D.

Dr. Sohocki's Personal Statement

Through the course of my military appointment, I was assigned to the US Naval Base in Corpus Christi as the ophthalmologist on staff in 1970. In August of that same year I received an unconventional welcome to the area as Corpus Christi was hit by hurricane Celia, the largest hurricane in the memory of today's living inhabitants.

In the spring of 1972, I started investigating different places to practice after my military duty would come to an end. A perfect opportunity presented itself in Conroe, Texas. I began the preparations to move myself to Conroe when out of the blue I received a phone call from a Dr. E. King Gill, the 12th man of Texas A&M University, who's ophthalmological practice was based in Corpus Christi. Dr. Gill explained to me that he had noted some of his patients who had seen me at the Naval Base never returned to see him for their ophthalmological follow-ups. He then decided to give me his entire practice and equipment free if I would just continue doing the job as well as I had been doing. In his words, "any son-of-a-gun who can steal my patients away while working at the Naval Base can have them all for free!" In reality, Dr. Gill had been thinking of retirement and saw the perfect opportunity to pass on his busy established practice to an ophthalmologist he felt could carry on a high quality of care.

Throughout the course of my professional career, I had a strong calling to provide medical care for the underprivileged. I have worked with ORBIS and the Order of Poor Claire Nuns supplying care to those in need. My travels with these and other organizations has taken me to places like Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.), Dubai, Kenya, and the West Indies. My passion for what I do has always been to provide all of my patients with the very best care utilizing the latest innovations.